Puppy Friendship
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: There were days when Misael was too weak to get out of bed. That left Kaito and little Haruto to take care of everything while he rested up. Fortunately, Rio was always a great helper. Hey. Stop joking around, Haruto! For Senshi Moon's Diamondshipping Marathon!


**Zexal Oneshot**

**Puppy Friendship**

**Kaito/Rio**

**Friendship/Humor**

**There were days when Misael was too weak to get out of bed. That left Kaito and little Haruto to take care of everything while he rested up. Fortunately, Rio was always a great helper. Hey. Stop joking around, Haruto! For Senshi Moon's Diamondshipping Marathon! **

**(I have told you guys I don't own this stuff approximately 132 times. [looks] Scratch that. 135! XD)**

* * *

Puppy Friendship

* * *

Misael pressed his hand against his head while his students looked down at his bed. One of them – Kaito – per his usual, was staring down at him with a simple expression that couldn't help but scream, "Again?" The second one, however, was giving him light shakes in an attempt to keep his master awake. "Are you going to be okay, Shishou?" he asked. "You're not going to die, are you?"

"Haruto," the first said, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. "He's going to be fine. The doctor's said he simply wore himself down, remember?"

"You two worry too much," Misael sighed. "I just have to rest up and I'll be back on my feet before dinner."

"But the last time you did that, you were in bed afterwards for the remainder of the week!" Haruto piped up, tears threatening to pour down his face.

"And then, don't forget, we were responsible for the dragons during that time," Kaito sighed.

Misael deadpanned.

He absolutely hated it when his students brought those things up.

"You just rest up, okay, Shishou?" Haruto said. "We'll take care of everything, so you just get some sleep."

Misael looked at his students with half-lidded eyes. Then he sighed and let his eyelids fall, enshrouding his vision in darkness. "Fine," he said. "Just don't let the dragons get into my room like last time." ←[Striking back.]

"Yeah, yeah," Kaito said, nudging Haruto out of the room. "Oh, yeah. Your ladylove should be arriving later this afternoon, Shishou. She said that she wanted you to know this time, so you wouldn't get a heart attack or something like the last time she showed up." ←[And striking back again.]

Misael then threw his pillow right at the door, three seconds **after** Kaito left the room. "That brat," he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

(A little later, in the middle of the courtyard.)

"So, Shishou has a ladylove?" Haruto asked, brushing the ground with a whisk broom.

"You might say that," Kaito said.

Haruto then hummed under his breath. "What's a ladylove?"

Kaito stared at his brother for a second or two, wondering whether or not he should answer. "Well," he began uncertainly, "a ladylove is a girl that you like and want to be with."

"Oh," Haruto drawled. ←[Doesn't really get it, but knows his brother won't give the proper explanation.] "So then...is Rio-san your ladylove?"

Kaito paused in his tracks. "Blast it," he thought. "I just knew Haruto was going to ask that."

"Nii-san?"

"No, Haruto," Kaito sighed. "Rio isn't my ladylove."

"Why not?" Haruto asked. "You like her."

"That doesn't make her my ladylove."

"What doesn't make me your what?!"

The boys completely froze up.

Then they looked to the gates.

Rio was right there. Why were they not surprised?

"Well, that's a fine hello," Rio huffed. "I travel all the way up those steps, with **this** guy," she jerked a thumb to the knight behind her; "and his little friend back there," she then pointed to a white wolf that was growling at her; "and I don't even get a smile from either of you?"

Haruto quickly brought out the wanted grin. "Rio-san!" he exclaimed, racing over to her side and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Now, that's better," Rio chuckled, hugging Haruto back.

"Why are you here, Rio?" Kaito asked.

"I came because a little birdy told me that your master was sick," Rio explained. "And I happen to know that you can't cook without burning everything beyond recognition."

Kaito twitched. "Did you have to say that?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Probably," Haruto said. "It's true, after all. You are a really bad cook, Nii-san."

That most certainly didn't help.

"Rio-san, one; Tenjo, zero," the knight chuckled.

"Don't need that from you, Sirius," Kaito growled.

"Hai, hai. I'm heading out for a while. This isn't my place, after all. Come on, Guardian."

Then, with a grunt, both knight and wolf started down the Ten Million Steps of Woe. ←[Haruto nicknamed them that.]

After a brief silence, Rio nodded. "So," she began, "who's hungry?"

Two growling stomachs gave her the answer.

* * *

"Ah," Haruto breathed happily. "That smells good, Rio-san."

Rio stirred the pot of stew a little bit more, smiling all the while. "Well, thank you," she said. "You'll certainly enjoy it more than Kaito's cooking, anyway."

Kaito jerked his head towards Rio, growling a little bit at her words.

"I will," Haruto said, ignoring his brother's glare. "Shishou always says, 'The cooking of a man is okay, but the cooking of a woman is unparallelled. Because she cooks with love.'"

Rio chuckled a little bit at that. "Well, that's true, isn't it?" she asked, bending down to look at Haruto better.

Haruto nodded. "Yep," he said. "That's really true, especially with you and us."

"Oh? Why?"

Only Haruto's innocence allowed him to speak.

"Because you love us, right?"

"That's right," Rio said with a nod.

Then Haruto looked over to his brother. "See, Nii-san," he said. "I told you she loved you."

The people in question froze like glaciers.

"What are you talking about!?" they both exclaimed.

Haruto simply looked at their cherry red faces and then up to the sky. "She said that she loved us," he said, almost in a drawled manner.

"Haruto," Kaito sighed, "I don't think she meant it like that."

Haruto ignored those words. "And you love her, right, Nii-san?"

"Haruto," Rio growled under her cherry red face.

"Where are you getting these ideas?" Kaito asked.

"Shishou says it," Haruto explained. "He said when Rio-san's around and you're suddenly messing up on your training, it's because she makes you flustered. And a guy only gets flustered when he knows he's messing up in front of his teacher and doesn't want to look stupid, or if the girl he likes is right in front of him."

"Misael," Kaito mentally growled.

"So if Rio-san loves Nii-san," Haruto continued, "and Nii-san loves Rio," he paused a little bit; "then that means that Rio-san is Nii-san's lovebird! Right?"

"No, Haruto, that doesn't make her my lovebird," Kaito began.

"So that's what you called me before I arrived?" Rio asked with a growl. "Your lovebird?"

Kaito knew that tone. She used it once a week after all.

"No," he sighed. "Haruto said it-"

"So you thought that because I come up here and help you guys out when your master is sick that I'm your lovebird!?" Rio interrupted. "Oh, come on, Kaito! We're friends, but not that kind of friends! Get that through that thick, dragon-loving head of yours!"

"I never said you were my lovebird!" Kaito snapped back.

Haruto, meanwhile, looked at his brother and friend with an innocent face. "Just like Shishou and his lovebird."

* * *

**D.T.B: [bangs head against the wall] I promised I would write a story, then totally forgot. How stupid.**

**Sirius: [sighs] Just for the record, everybody, Shishou means 'Master.'**

**Lyra: Please review. :)**


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